The Adventures of Captain John Patterson: With Notices of the Officers, &c. of the 50th, or Queen's Own Regiment from 1807 to 1821Patterson, John
History
The Adventures of Captain John Patterson: With Notices of the Officers, &c. of the 50th, or Queen's Own Regiment from 1807 to 1821
Patterson, John
Great Britain. Army. Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment; Peninsular War, 1807-1814 -- Personal narratives, British
[10] It is a singular fact, that one of those regiments of
Junot's army, (the 32nd Light Infantry), was engaged with
the 50th at the battle of Corunna, having lost no time in
returning to their old trade of basket making.
CHAPTER IV.
On the 23rd of August we commenced our march to Lisbon. As we passed
through the towns and villages that lay in our course, the enthusiasm
and delight evinced by the Portuguese, on seeing the English army, was
unbounded. Joyful congratulations, and the exulting language of
welcome, greeted us as we triumphantly moved along; and, wherever we
appeared, the most cordial reception awaited us. In the soldiers of
Britain they beheld friends and allies, who had come to deliver their
country from the bondage of Napoleon, as well as of French subordinate
tyranny and oppression. On this account, the sentiments they
entertained towards us, were those of heartfelt gratitude. Those
feelings were expressed with vehemence and fervour, not merely by a
class or a faction, but by all ranks and ages among the people, who
saluted us with loud and deafening huzzas, and with cries of "viva los
Ingleses--viva, viva,--viva los officiales! viva muytos annos!" while,
as we marched beneath their crowded windows, a shower of garlands,
flowers, olive branches, laurels, and other harmless missiles, fell
profusely upon us. Entering Lisbon from the North, the 29th, 40th,
50th, and 79th regiments halted upon an elevated space of ground,
called the Campo St. Anna, where we lay undisturbed for some days. The
inhabitants around entertained the officers in a most liberal manner,
their anxious care being to anticipate all our wants and wishes. In
the full enjoyment of the variety and amusement of the Capital our
time passed rapidly away. Temptations and enticements were not wanting
to allure us from the encampment, and pleasure in many shapes appeared
on every side. The Opera was well attended by those who ventured at a
late hour through the long narrow streets and passages; but the
pedestrian found this by no means an agreeable excursion, for it is
the custom here to throw out from the windows sundry fluids, not of
the most savoury nature, and while the generous inmate shrieks out,
"take care below!" he, at the same instant, by way of a salute, pours
the contents of his pail or bucket on the pate of the luckless
passenger.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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